Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakensdebuted its second trailer this week, and fans have responded in a big way. Capturing the feeling of Original Trilogy nostalgia, combined with a lot of new elements (inspired by the old), The Force Awakens seems like it could please fans both old and new.

However, like the first Star Wars 7 teaser trailer, The Force Awakens trailer #2 came with a fair amount of mystery behind it – and like with his Star Trek films, director J.J. Abrams is keeping plot and character details under tight lock and key. However, one big mystery from the trailer is worth discussing: namely, who is narrating it.

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The voiceover narration from Episode VII trailer #2 contained the following quote (which is a slight modification to the monologue in Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, when Luke finally reveals his family connections to Princess Leia):

“The Force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it.”

THE ANSWER (UPDATE): We can now confirm that the voice of the trailer #2 narrator IS indeed Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker – though it is NOT the simple cut and splice of the Return of the Jedi dialogue, as many (angry and pedantic) fans are screaming at us.

Hamill did in fact record a new version of the dialogue for the trailer, and he himself had a lot of the same grammar issues we spoke of.

Hamill was “cleared” to tell the packed house that he did record a voiceover specifically for the new teaser trailer, which debuted on Thursday during the Celebration kick-off panel.

In the teaser, we hear Luke’s voice saying a familiar, but slightly altered line from “Return of the Jedi”: “The force is strong in my family. My father has it. I have it. My sister has it. You have that power too.”

He laughed and said that he kept messing up and saying: “My father had it.”

The end result is a combination of the original recording and Hamill’s new session, the actor said.

So there you have it! Another Star Wars 7 mystery solved.

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Luke Skywalker

The most obvious answer about the narrator’s identity is that it is once again Luke Skywalker! Even though trailers have yet to reveal him onscreen, Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill is in the film, and having him recite his famous monologue from Return of the Jedi to a new generation of Star Wars adventurers would be downright geekgasmic – and fitting with the rumored plot details that see newcomers like Finn and/or Rey having their Force potential unlocked by Luke Skywalker.

The Problem: It’s hard to confirm just from listening to vocals that it is in fact Mark Hamill’s current voice speaking the lines. There’s also a grammar issue: the narrator says “My father has it,” in the present tense, indicating the father is still alive. Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader is definitely not alive, so having present day Luke speaking the monologue doesn’t quite fit (unless you get into the whole spiritual debate of what “alive” is). Abrams and Co. could’ve simply used the audio from Return of the Jedi (meaning Hamill/Luke from that film is speaking) – but close listening (and the obviously different end to the speech) pokes holes in that theory, as well.”

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Young(er) Luke Skywalker

One of many rumors about The Force Awakens has been that it could feature a number of flashbacks to the younger years of the Original Trilogy characters, both before and after the events of the OT. We’ve heard everything from Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine flashbacks, to both Luke and Leia having flashbacks – some of which fill in the gaps between Episodes VI and VII. The Luke flashback is said to cover the tragic events of Luke’s failed Jedi Academy after Episode VI; if that indeed is part of Episode VII‘s story, then a younger Luke could believably be making such a speech to a young Jedi recruit.

The Problem: While it would be interesting if a younger Luke were making this speech to a recruit that would one day betray him (Kylo Ren?), the whole young Luke/Jedi Academy flashback is still just a rumor. There is a shot in trailer #2 of a mysterious hooded figure with a cybernetic right hand affectionately touching R2-D2: is it younger Luke in the flashback sequence? Could be…

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Son of Luke Skywalker

One of the more secretive aspects of The Force Awakens has been the character being played by Domhnall Gleeson. We more or less know Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) by now; Girls star Adam Driver is pretty much confirmed to be playing Darkside user Kylo Ren; Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie is suspected to be the chrome shock trooper in the trailer… But Gleeson has not yet been glimpsed (that we know of), and the rumors surrounding his character are pretty big.

The Problem: First of all, it’s far from certain that Gleeson is playing Luke’s son. Even if he is, the phrasing of the monologue leaves one big hole: who is the sister? Luke would obviously be the father, Gleeson the “I,” but the sister could only be one of two choices, given the cast:

Gleeson would be talking to Finn, and therefore referencing Rey as his sister/Luke’s daughter. It’s possible, given that we expect Rey to reveal herself as a hero offspring of OT characters – though popular theory has been she is Han and Leia’s daughter.

Gleeson could be talking to Rey and referencing a different sister: Gwendoline Christie’s shock trooper character. It’s been rumored she will reveal herself to be a force user, and that Gleeson could be working with her; if they are Luke’s children, it would be a nice twist and resonant theme of the Skywalkers’ struggle to remain on the right side of The Force.

In the end, the “son of Luke” theory is a longshot, but one that presents some of the more intriguing possibilities for twists and strong themes that begin in Episode VII and could continue into Episode VIII.

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Other

Just for the sake of argument: Star Wars 7 is full of characters, and any one of them could potentially be the narrator.

The Problem: Given the direct relevance of the voiceover monologue, and the obvious restrictions imposed by the family structure referenced in the monolgue, it can’t just be anyone. It has to be a Force-sensitive male with a Force-sensitive dad and sister. Not too many of those in the Star Wars universe…